Jeju-do
Jeju-do (transliterated Korean for Jeju Province, short form of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province) is the only special self-governing province of South Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country's largest island, Jejudo. Its capital is the city of Jeju.
The island contains the UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site entitled Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes. [1]
Location
Jeju-do lies at the confluence of the Korea Strait, the Yellow Sea and the South China Sea, lying between China, Japan and the Korean mainland.
Nomenclature
In Korean, do is the phonetic transcription of two distinct hanja (Chinese characters), one meaning "island" (島) and the other "province" (道). Jejudo (Romanized, officially, without the hyphen) refer to Jeju the island not the province, while (with the hyphen) Jeju-do refers to the government administrative unit. No other island is a Korean province. The table below also includes the name of Jeju City, the provincial capital.
| English Name | Korean Name | Hangul | Hanja |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeju Island | Jejudo | 제주도 | 濟州島 |
| Jeju Province | Jeju-do | 제주도 | 濟州道 |
| Jeju City | Jeju-si | 제주시 | 濟州市 |
Historical names
Historically, the island has been called by many different names including:
- Doi (도이, 島夷)
- Dongyeongju (동영주, 東瀛州)
- Juho (주호, 州胡)
- Tammora (탐모라, 耽牟羅)
- Seomna (섭라, 涉羅)
- Tangna (탁라, 竣羅)
- Tamna (탐라, 耽羅)
When Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910, Jeju became known as Saishū, which is the Japanese reading of the hanja for Jeju. During this time and previously, the island was usually known as Quelpart to Europeans.
The name "Quelpart" apparently came from a corruption of the Korean word for "mandarin orange field," "gyulbat." When European explorers pointed to the fruit groves, asking for the name of the island, they mistakenly interpreted the Korean for crop fields as the name of the island itself.
Before 2000, when the Seoul government changed the official Romanization of Hangul, Jeju was spelled Cheju. Almost all written references to the island prior to that use that spelling.
Geography
Jeju Island is a volcanic island, dominated at its center by Hallasan: a volcano 1,950 metres high and the highest mountain in South Korea.
The island was created entirely from volcanic eruptions 2 million to one million years ago, with minor volcanic activity. It consists chiefly of basalt and lava. It has a subtropical climate, warmer than the rest of Korea, with four distinct seasons. Half of the summer is rainy, and the winter is fairly dry.
History
According to the founding myth of Samseonghyeol, the Jeju people originated with three divine men who emerged from holes in the ground at Moheunghyeol, located at the northern foot of Hallasan.
Jeju was an independent country called Tamna until it became a protectorate of Silla in AD 662. In 938, after the fall of Silla, Tamna became a protectorate of Goryeo. In 1105, Tamna lost its autonomy and became a province of Goryeo. King Uijong of Goryeo changed the island's name from Tamna to Jeju.
In 1271, Jeju became the base of the Sambyeolcho Rebellion against the Mongols. After Sambyeolcho was defeated in 1273, the Mongols placed Jeju under direct rule, using the island (its outpost with the mildest of climate) as a recreation venue for officials and as a place to breed horses. The small Mongolian horses crossed with the indigenous strain to form a somewhat larger animal well suited for military campaigns; it now dominates the Jeju population. Jeju became Goryeo territory again in 1367.
Jeju was colonized by Japan in 1910 along with the rest of Korea. After the defeat of the Japanese in World War II, Jeju became an official part of the new Republic of Korea. Jeju was then a part of South Jeolla until 1946, when it became a province of its own.
In a series of events from 1948–1954, known as the Jeju Massacre or April 11 Uprising or other terms, tens of thousands of people were killed. Blame has long been under dispute but most Jeju people resent the Seoul regime for it; the military regime from Seoul dispatched a large military contingent to put down a Communist rebellion against the government, reacting in extreme measure against the killing of a much smaller number of soldiers who had apparently been committing atrocities. The island divided into two ideologically (left versus right) but also geographically (elevated versus littoral) separate camps, and government troops decimated the population.
The isolated Jeju people have long been victim of discrimination. During the 500 years of the Joseon Dynasty Jejudo was used as a destination of exile for figures deemed undesirable by the central government. The history of Jeju has until recently been largely omitted from South Korean history books and textbooks.
In an attempt to attract attention to the island, the city of Seogwipo, the island's south port, became one of ten host cities for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan.
On 1 July 2006, Jeju-do became Korea's first and (as of 2007) only special self-governing province.
Society and culture
Because of the relative isolation of the island, the people of Jeju have developed a culture distinct from that of mainland Korea. Jeju is home to thousands of local legends. The most distinctive cultural artifact is the ubiquitous dol hareubang ("stone grandfather") carved from a block of lava.
Another distinct aspect of Jeju is the matriarchal family structures, found especially on the island Udo, but also present in the rest of the province. The best-known example of this is found among the haenyeo ("sea women"), who are often the heads of families. They earn their living from free diving, often all year round in quite cold water, without scuba gear in order to harvest abalones, conches, and a myriad of other marine products.
Jeju also played host to the World Marching Show Band Championship.
Economy
The Jeju GDP was over $8 billion in 2006, with per-capita income of approximately $15,000. Aside from tourism, the Jeju economy is almost entirely agricultural, mostly citrus fruit, and some fishing, but there is some tertiary industry including Daum Communications Corp., a leading Korean internet portal and sole owner of Lycos of America.
Tourism
Tourism takes a big and growing part in Jeju's economy. The mild ("sub-tropical") climate, natural scenery, and fantastic seashore make it a popular destination for both South Koreans and visitors from around East Asia. Cheonjeyeon and Cheonjiyeon Falls and Jeongbang Falls which empties directly into the sea, Mount Halla easy to scale the summit, Songsan Ilchulbong a large volcanic cone jutting up from the sea with a perfect-circle smooth concave crater, and the lava tube caves are popular with tourists, together witholf, horseback riding, fishing, and modern outdoor leisure sports. The island caters to tourism with dozens of attractions, and attracts over five million visitors per year.
Power supply in Jeju
Though most of the island's electric power needs are met by gas- and oil-fired generators on Jeju, demand outweighs local supply and Jeju's power-grid is connected to the mainland by the HVDC Haenam-Cheju --- all overseen by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
Administrative divisions
Until 2005, Jeju Province was divided into two cities (si), Jeju and Seogwipo, and two counties (gun), Bukjeju (North Jeju) and Namjeju (South Jeju) respectively. The two cities were further divided into thirty-one neighborhoods (dong), while the two counties were divided into seven towns (eup) and five districts (myeon). The seven towns and five districts were in turn divided into 551 villages (ri).
In 2005, Jeju residents approved, by referendum, a proposal to merge Bukjeju County into Jeju City, and Namjeju County into Seogwipo City. Effective 1 July 2006, the province was also renamed Jeju Special Self-Governing Province with two nominal subdivisions, Jeju and Seogwipo city. In addition to changes in name, the province has been given extensive administrative power that has been reserved for the central government. This is part of plans to create the Jeju Free International City.[2]
Cities
- Jeju
- Seogwipo
Symbols
- Provincial flower: Rhododendron (Rhododendron Weyrichii / Max (Chamkkot))
- Provincial tree: Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphora siebold / Noknamu)
- Provincial bird: Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos quelpartensis)
Sister provinces
Jeju's international sister provinces are also islands: Hainan Province (People's Republic of China), Hawaii (U.S.), Sakhalin (Russia), and Bali (Indonesia).
See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- Subdivisions of South Korea
- Geography of South Korea
Notes
- ↑ Unesco names World Heritage sites. BBC. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
- ↑ Cheju Consolidation Vote. Korea Times. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
External links
- Official provincial info site. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
- Life in Korea pages (a web portal). Retrieved November 17, 2007.
- Information network. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
- International Convention Center Jeju. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
- Eco-tourism on Jeju. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
- Open Directory category for Jeju Province. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
- Galbijim Wiki page on changes to Jeju since attaining autonomy. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
- Jeju Photo Gallery. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
- [1]
| |||||
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
